New Games Old Hardware
Microsoft has said you wont have to buy new hardware to enjoy its upcoming first-party titles because many of them will also come to Xbox One. Heres how Xbox chief Phil Spencer described the companys approach back in July, where he said that every Xbox Game Studios game in the next couple of years will be playable on the Xbox One.
You wont be forced into the next generation. We want every Xbox player to play all the new games from Xbox Game Studios. Thats why Xbox Game Studios titles we release in the next couple of yearslike Halo Infinitewill be available and play great on Xbox Series X and Xbox One. We wont force you to upgrade to Xbox Series X at launch to play Xbox exclusives.
And if youre more of a PC gamer and dont own an Xbox One, then Microsoft also typically releases its major titles there as well, and it says it plans to continue this policy this year.
Microsoft has promised to bring Halo Infinite to PC and Xbox One as well as its new Xbox consoles.
There are some caveats you should be aware of. First is that these promises only cover Microsofts first-party titles, aka those published by Xbox Game Studios. Microsoft isnt making any promises about how other publishers like EA, Ubisoft, or Activision will handle their new games.
Microsoft is making big promises about its own games
How Does Xbox Backward Compatibility Work
The Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S are able to play Xbox 360 and original Xbox games through emulation software that makes your console think it’s a last generation machine for the purposes of playing classic games.
When a supported game is started on the machine, the current or last-gen console opens the emulator and, in all regards, the game works as if it was running on an Xbox 360 or 2001 Xbox. The opening screen appears first then the game will load.
All other aspects and features that would normally be available on an Xbox 360 or Xbox are available on the Xbox One/Series X/S too, including the hub on the former . In addition, all new features of the more recent Xbox consoles work, including the ability to take screen grabs and record and share video of gameplay.
Xbox Series X/S owners get additional bonuses too, with the latest consoles able to play many of the backward compatible Xbox 360 and Xbox games with Auto HDR enabled. This adds virtual high dynamic range contrast and colours to make the titles look better. Plus, many titles have FPS Boost enabled. This ups the frame rate the fames play in, which provides a smoother experience.
What Discs Work In An Xbox Series X And How To Use Them
Try original Xbox games to Ultra HD Blu-rays with your Xbox Series X
Knowing what discs work in an Xbox Series X will help you understand how much of your physical gaming library is playable or even which movies you can watch if you’ve got any on a disc. Thankfully, the Xbox Series X has excellent disc compatibility options, which means your catalogue of old Xbox 360 and even original Xbox games are playable on your new Series X, as well as a variety of entertainment experiences on different media. This means that, now you’ve been able to buy the Xbox Series X, you can easily play your favorite games that you were already playing, or revisit some classics, whether it’s for nostalgia or to play the ones you missed provided you have the disc. If you want to know exactly which types of discs work in an Xbox Series X, we’ve got everything you needs to know about what’s compatible and how you use it.
Note that the Xbox Series S is a digital-only console with no disc drive, and is not compatible with external disc drives so you cannot use discs with that console.
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List Of Compatible Titles
In the following chart, any Xbox game with a “Yes” for its region will work in that region, and only in others which also have “Yes” . “Yes” in the 60Hz column indicates that the PAL title supports 60Hz output mode, and thus is compatible with the Xbox 360 VGA cable.
A game with “Yes” in the widescreen column has built-in support for widescreen, and will fill high definition displays. If the widescreen column is “No”, pillar boxing is used to preserve aspect ratio on high definition displays. Note that all compatible games will stretch to widescreen if the Xbox 360 is configured for standard or enhanced definition .
Any game not on the list at all does not work in any region at present.
| Title |
|---|
| 60Hz |
Faster Performance Higher Frame Rates
The Xbox Series X and Series S have powerful CPUs in the neighborhood of four times as powerful as their predecessor in raw speed and the number of cores and threads, to say nothing of seven years worth of efficiency and other improvements. This means faster user interfaces and much faster load times,1 as well as more sophisticated character and game behaviors, and just more stuff on screen at any given moment.
The biggest improvements are most apparent in frame rates, which should hit 60 frames per second much more often this generation than last. The more frames per second, the more often the controller and the game are communicating. So a new Series X or Series S should feel like it responds faster and more reliably to your inputs. And when games cant maintain consistent frame rates, support for variable refresh rates should help keep those games from feeling unresponsive. Recent examples here include Battlefield 2042, Elden Ring, and Psychonauts 2, all of which offer 60 FPS modes on Series X and S unavailable on the Xbox One.
These improvements have come to a number of existing titles originally released for the Xbox One Gears 5, the entirety of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps have all received 120 FPS updates for the Xbox Series X and Series S.
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Games Were Playing Right Now
One of the best things about Xbox Game Pass is the library of older Xbox 360 games available. The Fable trilogy still holds up, partly due to backwards compatibility enhancements like FPS boost and resolution increases, and were revisiting it to get excited for the new Fable gamewhich still doesnt have a launch date, but were waiting patiently. Similarly, for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, all of the Mass Effect games are included via EA Play, and theyre great if youre looking to invest in a longer and more story-driven series. Were using the Mass Effect Legendary Edition to replay them, as it wraps up all three original games in one, and optimizes them with 4K and frame rate improvements, along with quality of life changes. Were also playing 2017s Prey from developer Arkane Games. Prey received an FPS Boost update last year, and received a resolution boost over its original release as well, and its a great way to experience Arkanes brand of immersive action gameplay driven by creative problem solving and decision-making while taking the sting out of the delay of Arkanes upcoming Redfall .
Can You Play Xbox One Game Discs On Xbox Series X Or S
– The Xbox Series X and Series S are, each in their own right, really enticing consoles. With the Series X, Microsoft has got the most powerful games console ever released into people’s homes, powering amazing new technical feats and way better performance.
The Series S, meanwhile, is impressively affordable for a new next-gen platform and brings superb upgrades in the smallest Xbox ever made, perfect for families or anyone with a smaller TV stand who still wants to enjoy new games.
However, if you’ve been on the Xbox bandwagon for a while now, you might have yourself a collection of great games on disc already, and be wondering whether they’ll work on a new console – don’t worry, it’s not just you! We’ve got the answers you need, below.
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Original Xbox Games Playable On Xbox 360
Naruto: Rise Of A Ninja & The Broken Bond
There are approximately a million Naruto games, so it is not like Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One owners cannot get their fix of shinobi-themed action. However, Rise of a Ninja and The Broken Bond are so fantastic that they deserve to be experienced by as many people as possible.
No other games based on the series capture the feeling of living in Naruto‘s world as well as these two Xbox 360 exclusives. The graphics are stylish and timeless, the combat is more than serviceable, the platforming is fun and suits the license, and the story does an excellent job covering the arcs from the manga .
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What Does Xbox Smart Delivery Mean
Some optimised games will also be badged as supporting Smart Delivery, which means that if you purchase the Xbox One version first, your game will instantly be upgraded should you then get yourself a Series X or S.
For example, if you buy Cyberpunk 2077 for Xbox One but then upgrade to an Xbox Series X or Series S later you will automatically be able to play the next-gen version of the game .
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Quick Resume Acts Like The Ultimate Pause Button
Using their fast storage access, the Xbox Series X and Series S allow you to suspend almost any game by creating a snapshot of it in system memory. You can then start another game, watch a movie, or even turn off and completely unplug your console. The next time you start the game in question, itll pick up exactly where you left off. Its a lot like switching between open apps on a smartphone, and you can do it with several games at once. Games already boot up faster on the new consoles because of their storage speed, and if youre playing more than one thing, switching between games using quick resume saves a lot of time and frustration because you skip any menus and save/load screens that you might otherwise be forced to navigate. And in the time weve been using the console, every time we boot up a game for the first time in weeks only to load up exactly where we left off in seconds is a delightful experience.
Initially, Quick Resume has become more reliable over time, though there are still occasional, unavoidable issues. For titles like the 2018 remaster of Dark Souls, which uses an always online server systemor its spiritual successor, 2022s Elden RingQuick Resume just about always results in a server disconnect, which will boot you to the title screen .
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How Compatibility Is Achieved
According to Microsoft, each game needs an emulation profile to run. These profiles can be downloaded through the Xbox Live service or from Xbox.com and burned on CD or DVD recordable media. They are also routinely distributed as part of the content on the Official Xbox Magazine monthly discs. The profiles are downloaded as a single bundle, and hence only need to be applied once per update , or are automatically downloaded the first time a compatible game is inserted.
The Xbox 360 hard disk is required to play the games on this list. The hard disk is used not only to store the emulation software, but also to store saved games, store downloaded content, and to serve as a data cache for titles which utilize disk caching. Since games for the Xbox were designed with the expectation that a hard drive would always be available, most titles rely heavily on the presence of one.
An early version of the emulator for playing Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 offline was included with the Xbox 360 hard drive at launch. Xbox 360 hard drives manufactured later include updated emulation profiles which allow a greater range of titles to be played out of the box without updating. Whenever a new set of emulation profiles is released, drives manufactured after that date automatically include the latest update.
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Hd Collection
The Budokai games hold a special place in Dragon Ball Zgaming history. Prior to the debut of Dragon Ball FighterZ, the Budokai games, along with Budokai Tenkaichi, were regarded as the anime’s pinnacle gaming adaptations. Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection gives the first and third games a fresh coat of paint, although the second entry is bizarrely missing.
This collection doesn’t offer much in the way of significant changes, but it does allow fans to revisit these fun arena fighters in high definition. Even though the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One are not lacking in Dragon Ball titles, there is always room for some Budokai.
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Fewer Games With Gold
While its reasonable for Microsoft to stop providing free games for a system thats over 15 years old, it does make Xbox Live gold less attractive of a package. In the coming months, well learn whether Microsoft plans to replace those two monthly titles with newer Xbox games, or if subscribers will be limited to two titles.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the console divide, Sony stopped providing PS3 and PS Vita titles in 2019, though thats different since the PS4 isnt backward-compatible with PS3 games.
Thankfully, many Xbox 360 games are playable on modern Xbox consoles, so these classics are still accessible. You can enjoy lots of them with an Xbox Game Pass subscription thats just one of the many reasons this service is a must-have for Xbox gamers.
How To Import From External Storage
To transfer your old Xbox games and save files to your Xbox Series X, you’ll need an external hard drive.
Some games can actually run off the external storage device. So, they won’t need to be copied to your Xbox Series X. Great if you don’t want to transfer them, or don’t have the storage space to do so.
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And Witcher 2 Fable Anniversary And Forza Horizon
Some of the last console generations most popular games now look and perform better on this console generations newest hardware. For the first time since its launch last November, Microsoft has added to the list of Xbox 360 games that have been optimized for the Xbox One X.
The biggest addition is also the only newcomer to the backward compatibility program: the original Crackdown. Even though Crackdown was once a Games with Gold freebie , it was long before backward compatibility even existed. That program started in November 2015, and Crackdown was free in August 2013.
The other three games that are now better on Xbox One X are The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Fable Anniversary, and Forza Horizon. That brings the tally up to 11 Xbox 360 games that are Xbox One X enhanced. The others are: Assassins Creed, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Fallout 3, Halo 3, Gears of War 3, Mirrors Edge, and Skate 3.
As for what these performance upticks actually achieve, well, it mostly caters to the visuals. As Microsoft has said in the past, emulating Xbox 360 games on Xbox One X allows for: nine times the on-screen pixels as the original versions, a 10-bit color depth rather than 8-bit, and increased texture details and anti-aliasing. Theres also framerate smoothing to bump the performance a bit.